India gang rape: New Year celebrations scaled back

India has scaled back New Year celebrations, as it mourned the death of a woman whose gang rape on a bus a fortnight ago sparked public outrage.

The army has cancelled all official celebrations as have the states of Punjab and Haryana.

The president of the governing Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, also said she would not be celebrating.

Meanwhile, protests continued on Monday in the capital, Delhi, where the 23-year-old medical student was assaulted.

The victim died on Saturday morning in a Singapore hospital where she was being treated for severe injuries. She was cremated in Delhi on Sunday.

The attack sparked huge protests expressing anger over attitudes to women in India and calling for changes to the laws on violence against women.

As vigils continue to be held, hotels, clubs and business houses and celebrities announced they would be cancelling or toning down planned events for New Year's Eve.

Tougher laws demanded

Analysis

By Geeta PandeyBBC News, Delhi

There has been an unprecedented outpouring of anger and grief in India and on the eve of the New Year, many say they have decided not to celebrate.

Many private clubs, hotels and citizens have decided to cancel or tone down their planned festivities.

Delhi's Gymkhana Club has asked its 7,000 members to come and light candles to show solidarity with the victim, while the Chelmsford Club, the Delhi Golf Club and the Press Club of India have decided to call off their celebrations.

The film industry in Mumbai has also joined the mourners with many Bollywood stars saying they have nothing to celebrate this year.

Reports said Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and his wife, MP Jaya Bachchan, were extremely upset by the incident and that "all plans in the Bachchan family for the New Year have been cancelled".

Six men arrested for the 16 December rape have been charged with murder. If convicted, they could face the death penalty, which is rarely carried out in India.

The victim's family have said they would fight to ensure the death penalty is handed down to anybody convicted.

"Let there be no New Year celebrations across the country. It will be a major tribute to the departed soul," The Hindustan Times newspaper quoted Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general of the Confederation of All India Traders, as saying.

Protesters say they will continue with their action until the authorities accept their demand for tougher laws to protect women in the country.

Meanwhile, the city authorities' plan to launch a new telephone helpline for women in distress has been delayed due to a "technical glitch", officials said.

The 24-hour helpline number 181 will operate out of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's office and will be connected with all the 185 police stations across the city.

Marriage plans

The woman - a medical student whose identity has not been released - and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.

Friends told the AFP news agency the couple were in a relationship and had been planning to marry in the next few weeks.

The Indian government was heavily criticised for its response to the attack, which many called "slow" and inadequate.

According to official figures, a woman is raped in Delhi every 14 hours, while women across the country say they are frequently subjected to sexual intimidation and violence.

Officials have since announced a series of measures intended to make the city safer for women.

These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.

But many of the protesters say that women are viewed as second-class citizens, and that a fundamental change in culture and attitudes, backed up by law, is needed to protect them.